25/03/2024 27comments  |  Jump to last

Everton Academy graduate goalkeeper Harry Tyrer has been talking to evertontv about his triumphant season on loan at Chesterfield whom he helped to gain promotion from the National League after six years in the fifth tier.

The Spireites followed Wrexham's footsteps back into League Two with a win over Boreham Wood at the weekend that secured the National League title with five games to spare.

Tyrer, who has been at Everton since the age of seven, has played 39 of Chesterfield's 41 league games this season, after having spent the previous season on loan at Chester City in the National League North,  says it's been a great learning opportunity as much as it was a wonderful experience.

“We’ve worked all season for it,” Tyrer said. “It was a great win and a great end to the season. Good to get over the line.

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“From minute one of pre-season, the fans were on my side and giving me a little song. The fans have been top class here.

“I’ve made some mistakes. I’m a young goalkeeper – 22-years-of-age – and there are going to be mistakes in my game. I’ve got to learn from them and learn quickly because otherwise, I won’t be progressing the way I want to be. One day I want to be in that First Team.

“At the moment, Jord’s playing and he’s playing out of his skin. He’s a great goalkeeper to learn from. He’s got loads of talent and I want to learn from the likes of him. If I have a career half as good as him, I’ll be happy.”

Meanwhile, another young Everton goalkeeper, 16-year-old Doug Lukjanciks, is rumoured in the Mail to be attracting the attention of numerous clubs before he leaves school this summer with Everton hoping he takes up a scholarship at the Everton Academy.

Quotes sourced from evertonfc.com



Reader Comments (27)

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Mike Hayes
1 Posted 25/03/2024 at 16:19:48
Brilliant, well done!
Charles Ward
2 Posted 25/03/2024 at 16:25:27
Hopefully he gets a loan at a higher level next season.
Peter Hodgson
3 Posted 25/03/2024 at 16:26:05
I'm afraid I know nothing about these lads.

Are any more knowledgeable fans able to comment on their respective merits with a view to their possible futures with the Club as Pickford can't last for ever, even if he isn't sold for a healthy profit?

Mike Gaynes
4 Posted 25/03/2024 at 16:48:36
Congratulations to the young man. Well done!

A towering young man, reportedly with great feet and a calm temperament... hmmmm, can I pencil him in for 2026?

Dave Abrahams
5 Posted 25/03/2024 at 16:49:13
I'd extend this lad's contract as soon as possible – his present one finishes in 2025. With him and Virginia, we have two good ‘keepers for the future although Virginia is reported to be thinking about his future with not getting a lot of game time with Everton, does he even play for the U21s?

I imagine a lot of clubs, English and foreign, would be interested in this player and, if we were offered very good money for Pickford, we could be tempted.

David Bromwell
6 Posted 25/03/2024 at 17:11:17
For the second season, young Tyrer has had an outstanding season and he certainly deserves an improved contract.

He looks to be exactly the sort of player who we should be looking at to form the basis of our future first team.

Dale Self
8 Posted 25/03/2024 at 17:14:11
Good call, Gramps. Virginia looked like he matured as a keeper in recent starts and this kid just impressed at the lower level. We may do well in some future windows.
Peter Mills
9 Posted 25/03/2024 at 21:54:52
I've watched goalkeepers on loan from Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers playing in a few divisions further down this season.

Playing football in the lower leagues is an excellent test of a goalie's ability and temperament, I'm sure Harry will have learned a lot.

Alex Kociuba
10 Posted 25/03/2024 at 23:47:46
Nice words by their fans: https://www.thecfss.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=73015
Danny O’Neill
11 Posted 26/03/2024 at 06:33:21
I'm with Dave @5.

He looks promising and with Virginia, who I rate from what I've seen, that is a good set of goalkeepers.

I'm not sure Pickford is going anywhere soon, for a couple of reasons. I don't know where he would go and he doesn't seem to want a move. But this is Everton, so who knows.

Well done to the young man. Very young for a keeper and gaining good competitive experience that will improve him. He seems highly rated.

Iain Crawford
12 Posted 26/03/2024 at 07:31:18
Great to see a Crosby lad, Harry Tyrer, progressing very well. A successful loan spell with Chester and now another with Chesterfield, both playing almost a full season of games too. Reading their fans' comments, they've loved him at both clubs. I remember the Chester manager singing his praises last season.

Chesterfield fans and probably management want to keep him for another season by the sounds of it which would be excellent further experience. It will be interesting to see what Vaughan and Thelwell do.

A successful step up to Championship level would push and challenge him further and springboard him to challenging for our first team. Still a long way to go, but he's certainly heading in the right direction.

Sam Hoare
13 Posted 26/03/2024 at 07:49:24
I wonder if he might stay another season at Chesterfield. He's obviously liked there and a full season as first choice in League One would be a good step up for a 22-year-old.

Unless Pickford gets sold (I wouldn't be entirely against cashing in on him after Euros), Tyrer won't be getting a decent shot at Everton for a few years.

Jerome Shields
14 Posted 26/03/2024 at 08:23:15
Well done.
Peter Gorman
15 Posted 26/03/2024 at 08:35:16
Not sure what the future holds for Everton and young Harry. It is extremely hard to break into the team from the academy and I'd imagine less so as a keeper; gone are the days of Shay Given.

Which is a shame as he seems like a real talent. I've watched him a few times over the years, when he was a teenager keeper in our U21s, and thought he is the best prospect of a keeper we've had in many years.

If he has the patience, I'd love him to go on a few more loans up the league and see how he develops, hopefully for our benefit.

Paul Cherrington
16 Posted 26/03/2024 at 08:51:26
Great to hear this news and good to see a top young prospect coming through. I would personally sell Pickford over the summer for as much as we can get and then make Virginia or Tyrer first choice to build around in that position moving ahead.

Reasons behind my thinking are:

We need to be realistic about our current status as a club that needs to sell when the time is right to generate money to invest back into the squad (and keep us afloat at the moment).

Also, we need to be much smarter about when we sell players – there is no point hanging onto them until after they have peaked or interest has waned and then getting peanuts or nothing for them. The smart move is to sell when you get a major offer at the right time and then bring in a quality replacement with some of the cash.

In my view, if players are good enough they are old enough. Making people like Tyrer wait years and years to break into the first team is pointless and is just messing everyone about. The club should know by 22 if he has what it takes to be a Premier League level player – as with Virginia. If they are good enough, give them their chance or they will go and find it somewhere else.

Other teams are much better currently at giving young players their chance and letting them make their mark. This is not just something to level at Dyche – I think we have been way too cautious in bringing the best young players into the team properly for many years now.

Robert Tressell
17 Posted 26/03/2024 at 09:09:57
Great experience for Tyrer and I hope he has a good career. However, he is a 22-year-old playing in the 5th tier of English football. This does not indicate any likelihood whatsoever of first-team football with a Premier League club.

The lack of any recognition at England youth level at any age group backs that up. Lack of loan interest from higher up the football ladder backs that up too. Sad but true.

There are literally scores of U21 goalies in the four tiers of league football who are ahead of him. One of them is Wigan's Sam Tickle who we seem very keen on – and he's a year younger than Tyrer.

The bigger concern is Lukjanciks. He is our sole representative in the England youth set up between U21 and U16 level. If he goes, then the academy is left very light on genuine talent indeed.

I have said before that our next regular homegrown first-teamer from the Academy is probably no older than 15 at the moment. That will be reinforced if Lukjanciks leaves.

Dave Abrahams
18 Posted 26/03/2024 at 10:27:05
Robert (17),

Jordan Pickford played for quite a few teams on loan from Sunderland with one for a non-league club and a few more in the lower leagues, that's how he got plenty of experience and being roughed up during those years then earned a move to Everton for quite a huge sum.

Not sure if he played for any of the England youth teams but I think we signed him on his performances for Sunderland. Also not sure if we noticed he never comes off his line for corners, centres and free-kicks but that's too late now!!

Robert Tressell
19 Posted 26/03/2024 at 11:15:27
Dave @ 18,

Pickford played at every England youth level from U16 to U21 level. He got 50 caps altogether at youth level. So the England set-up clearly expected him to make it from a very young age.

You're right he did a load of loans at a low level but these were as a teenager. After hitting age 19 or 20, his loans were in league football. His last loan was in the Championship with Preston, age 21 / 22 where he kept 14 clean sheets in 30 matches. So again, other clubs were independently assessing him as being quality from a very young age.

There are exceptions but really, academy players don't tend to make it in the Premier League unless they have both international recognition and successful Championship level loans (at least) by about age 20. Obviously there are exceptions like Foden who are so good they don't even need a loan.

Dave Abrahams
20 Posted 26/03/2024 at 12:44:41
Robert (19),

Yes I looked it up after my initial post and he was recognised from an early age by England selectors and carried on with each age team.

It's surprising that over all those years and dozens of coaches, none of them seemed to change his reluctance to come off his line for corners, free-kicks etc. I'm just speculating that this has always been a major fault of his.

You must have seen Harry Tyrer play for Everton's younger teams and he has looked like he has the potential to be a good goalkeeper, he had a knack of saving penalties in those teams as well.

Let's see how he progresses with Everton, with or without international recognition.

Robert Tressell
21 Posted 26/03/2024 at 13:25:29
Dave, I have seen Tyrer play quite a few times – and Zan Luk Leban (21) who is on loan at Farsley Celtic.

They are both good commanding goalkeepers at U21 level with (now essential) decent footballing ability. But then the same is generally true of most keepers at other clubs in the U21 league – because the standard is so low. That's why so few make it unfortunately.

Alan J Thompson
22 Posted 26/03/2024 at 14:20:48
What is Lonergan doing at the moment — not having had two keepers on the bench for a while?
Dave Abrahams
23 Posted 26/03/2024 at 17:27:51
Robert (21), Well if not many goalkeepers make it we haven't done too bad with Virginia, who can go onto play for us as long as we look after his contract or we will get a good fee for him, same as Harry Tyrer, I know he hasn't made it yet but he's been at Everton since he was nine, stuck at it, won a league title medal in a tough man's game and is ready to move up, I hope he stays at Everton for the foreseeable future.
Peter Gorman
24 Posted 26/03/2024 at 18:36:36
Robert - what you say sounds logical but to be frank, comparing Tyrer to the fairly nailed-on England number one is quite a big ask. Pickford's journey is not representative of anything but his own, in my humble opinion. Nigel Martyn only started getting U-21 caps at Harry's age.

Plenty of players make it to the top without ever representing their country at youth level and vice versa.

I'm casting my mind back to one of England's top goalkeeping prospects, a fellow U-17 and U-20 Euro and World cup winner alongside our Kenny and Dowell, namely Freddie Woodman.

Woodman was excellent in the tournaments and even made some appearances for Newcastle at the age of 22 but prior to that he progressed from League 2 to Scots Prem on loan, learning his trade.

Interestingly, his understudy Sam Howes never went on to anything of note and now plays for Leyton Orient.

Does this mean it is more or less likely for Harry Tyrer to make it in the Premier League?

I think it means nothing.

James Flynn
25 Posted 27/03/2024 at 17:36:01
Well, Tyrer was too good for non-league football. But he delivered for both teams he played for.

Chester needed low-scoring games in order to contend and Harry ensured it. Best GA in that league.

Chesterfield came out the chute running and gunning and haven't stopped yet. Needed someone like Harry to prop-up their low-priority defense. He did the business. Only 11 league clean sheets, but the focus was on out-scoring everybody and it worked.

However, for me, Thelwell should not have sent Harry so far down the tiers. Yes, come season's end, he'll have right around 100 games in the rough n tumble of non-league footy.

And leadership of both clubs spoke highly of Tyrer; including he had a big personality in the locker room, which was nice to hear. All good stuff. Still, though, we remain with no indication of his ceiling.

Anyway, with one year left on his contract, it's looking 50/50 if the Club will extend him or take a few bucks and leave him go on his way. Every indication is that he's a good lad, so whichever way it plays, best of luck to him.

P.S. Virginia is terrible. Simply for not coming down with an in-season, long-term injury, Pickford is our POY.

Rick Tarleton
26 Posted 27/03/2024 at 18:46:07
Branthwaite must have expected at least 30 minutes from two friendly Internationals. He got zilch.

Does Ben White have a point? Southgate obviously has his favourites but Dunk, Henderson and Watkins are not my idea of England certainties.

Robert Tressell
27 Posted 27/03/2024 at 20:41:55
Peter # 24, you're right – making the international youth set-up doesn't mean you're destined to make it by any stretch. But failing to get international youth recognition at academy level means your chances are even lower. Much, much lower.

And, as you say, Nigel Martyn did get England U21 recognition. Don't get me wrong, by the way, I hope he does really well but at the moment Tyrer does not seem to be anywhere near that level.

James # 25, until this season I would agree with you about Virginia. But in fairness he did put in very strong performances this season.

One thing in favour of both these players is that Dyche seems to have a good track record of developing goalkeepers, taking both Heaton and Pope from nowhere into the international set-up. Maybe he can do something with Tyrer and / or Virginia.

James Flynn
28 Posted 27/03/2024 at 22:16:17
Robert (27) - On Virginia, I'll believe it when I see it over a long period. Which period I hope never comes! What I said about him, I won't unsay. But since your potential outcome under Dyche would be better for us than mine, let's go with yours.

As to Tyrer, what's done is done, but he had no business playing 2 seasons non-league. As I mentioned above, 1 year left on his contract, let's see what happens.

A little statistical manipulation of mine, for fun: Chesterfield this season, played 41 games so far, with 55 goals against – 9th in the league.

12 clean sheets (Harry-11, his back-up-1), 11 1-goal games (All Harry). A 23-game block where the Spireites surrendered just 11 goals. The other 18 games? 44 goals!

That's the kind of club they were this year. But they made it work.


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